What Is Love?
by chuckglee
Summary: Rahcel Berry, magazine comlumnist has a gift. she can choose when, where and how people fall in love. but what happens when school teacher Finn Hudson throws her gift into a spin?  Rated T for now but may change in future chapters
1. The Gift

_And they lived happily ever after. _

_The End. _

Now, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that how every fairy-tale ends? With the boy and the girl realising how much they love each other and finding a way to be together despite all odds? It's stupid. Because how many of us can honestly say that this has happened to us in our lives? How many of us can say that we've bumped into 'him' while carrying hot coffee and bonded while cleaning ourselves up? Well, my life is sort of like that…sort of.

You see, I was the girl next door.

No, not the one who takes her bra off while the cute guy in the window next to hers stares in awe; I was on the other side. I was the girl with the braces who watched the guy _watching_ the girl next door. I was the girl with the solar system diorama. I was the girl with the overalls and the pig tails, singing along to Barbara Streisand. I was your typical, every day geek. Then I graduated hell (high school, as the rest of you may know it), learnt how to brush my hair and became a magazine columnist to tell all of you the real story of love.

You may not know it, but somewhere there is a girl with a gift. Just by touching your hand, she can see your soul mate. She sees who you are meant to be with and she plans how you're going to meet them. Just the other day, a man at the train station dropped all of his papers and she helped him pick them up, by passing them to him, she touched his hand and saw his soul mate. She then planned, in that split second, for him to miss the train he was supposed to catch so that he could get on the one that she was on. There would be no other seats, apart from one next to her. The train would get stuck and they would be on there 15 minutes longer than they should have been, he will begin the conversation and the rest is history.

Doesn't sound real does it? But I know this for a fact…I know this because, I'm her. I am that girl. Call me crazy, but chances are if you are happily in love – it's because of me.

You're welcome.

* * *

><p>I'm not sure when it began, or how for that matter but I do know that my mother gave me the gift and my grandmother had passed it down to her. It's not all bad. I didn't get it until I was in my senior year of high school so at least I got to live a childhood romance-free.<p>

I would laugh when I accidently touched some jocks hand and saw that his soul mate was someone he hadn't even met yet. She was a florist who had an allergic reaction to peanuts. I decided they should meet at college. I hadn't done this long and was majorly lacking some creativity skills so I basically had him walk into the wrong class and after realising he was in the wrong room, he went to turn back out through the door and whacked into her. I saw it in a movie once I think. Last I heard, they're happily married.

What sucks though is touching someone's hand and seeing that they are with the wrong person. They are married to the wrong person. Some of them even have kids with the wrong person! Or I'll help a girl up and see that she's perfect for this really nice guy – but it turns out she's already in a relationship…with a guy who hits her. It sucks. I'm not one for breaking a marriage or a relationship for that matter. I would never do that! Ever.

That leads us to where my story actually begins….

* * *

><p>"I need a copy of that story on my desk in ten minutes Rachel" screamed a tall, thin woman as she walked past Rachel and into her office.<p>

"I know you do Beth but I'm not done yet!" replied Rachel.

"If you weren't the reason why our sales sky-rocket each week I would have you fired for that back-talk."

Rachel continued to edit the final touches to her column so she could hand them to Beth, her boss and go about her day.

After printing her three page expose' on why women are just as afraid of commitment as men, she realised something.

"Beth, I want to do something great. Not just these silly little columns anymore. I want to find out what the people of New York think on love. What age does it begin? What time in your life does love stop being a myth and become reality! I want to know. Please! I'll have it written for next month's issue I swear to god."

"Sounds good Rachel," Beth said, unenthused.

"But Beth, please! I know that…..did you just say yes?" Rachel was shocked. Beth never let her design her own column story lines. They were always given to her.

"Sure did. Get cracking." Said Beth, taking a slow sip of her coffee.

"Thank you! Oh, thank you Beth", screamed Rachel as she ran out of the office to make notes on what could become the best column she's ever written.


	2. Mr Hudson

She went around the city, interviewing people about their views on love. She found that little kids say that to have love you have to be a princess, like in the movies. Teenagers think love comes with everyone you kiss. Adults have slowly lost faith in it as the majority of people in New York city are alone or with the wrong person and elderly folk begin to believe in it again once it's gone.

"I totally love him. I know I do. He's super great! And one time he even bought me dinner! We went to the super bowl and be bought me a hot dog – totally cute right?" said a small 15 year old girl. "Am I going to be on T.V for this?"

"N-no. I'm a magazine columnist. I don't work at any T.V stations. But thank you for your time…"

Rachel shook the girl's hand. Her eyes dilated and she saw a boy. A boy playing video games all alone in his room.

"Are you alright, lady? You went all funny"

"Yes. Yeah, I'm fine" said Rachel as she walked away. How could these two meet? She asked herself. Then she decided. She would be at a concert and he would be there too, standing in line behind her. About to enter the concert, she would hand the man her ticket and he would tell her that it's fake and she has to leave. She would refuse and state that she paid for that ticket fair and square. Before she is escorted off the premises by bodyguards this boy would offer his ticket so that she could go in, admitting that he wasn't a big fan anyway. Completely flabbergasted, she would say that she couldn't let him do that, but she could let him buy her dinner. And off they will go.

"Nice," she said to herself as she walked away from another unsuspecting client.

* * *

><p>Next on the list was a primary school. She was going to go into a class room of little children and ask them what they think love is. That way she could get a broader view on when love really begins.<br>She walked up the steps of her old primary school and went to the front desk. To her surprise, the same lady that was there less than 20 years ago was still there.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Berry from Women's Life magazine. I'm here to speak to a class," said Rachel, putting on her business woman voice.

"Oh! The columnist! Yes, you'll be going into Mr Hudson's class. It's just down the hall to your left," said the old lady.

Rachel began walking down the hallway. It smelt like paste and cookies – it smelt like childhood. She got to the end of the hallway and turned left. A tall, young man was standing at the whiteboard spelling words like 'ham-bur-ger' and 'en-ve-lope'.

"Those are some pretty big words for some pretty small children, don't you think?" she said, flashing her perfect smile.

He turned around, his eyes instantly locked on hers. He couldn't believe how perfect she was. He had expected an old, cynical lady – but the woman right in front of him was beautiful.

"I'm Rachel Berry. I'm here from Women's Life magazine…" she said.

"Yes! Hi! We've been expecting you, haven't we kids," said the handsome man, "everyone say hello to…Miss Berry"

A wave of noise came over the room as all the children said 'hi Miss Berry' out of sync.

"Oh, you can all just call me Rachel," she said with a smile.

Another wave of noise repeated, as the children corrected themselves and called her Rachel.

"So! Miss Berry, what can we do for you today?" he said, feeling oddly nervous. Why was he feeling like this? He was probably hungry. That must be it.

"Rachel," she said, correcting him, "and I'm here to ask you guys about love. Does anyone know what that is?"

"That's a bit of a serious topic for such small children, don't you think Miss Berry?" interrupted Mr Hudson.

"If they can spell words like hamburger and envelope, I think they'll do just fine" she joked.

To her surprise, the beautiful teacher laughed with her. A little girl put her hand up and Rachel smiled at her, gesturing for her to speak her mind.

"Love is what Cinderella has. And The Little Mermaid," proud of herself, the girl sat back down.

"What about your parents?" said Rachel, making notes.

"My parents don't have love?" the little girl replied matter-of-factly, "my mom isn't a mermaid and my daddy isn't a prince! You have to be a princess to have love. Everyone knows that."

A little boy began to speak, "my mom says my dad and her used to have love, but then he lost it and found it with his secretary. You just got to be careful where you put it so you don't lose it I guess. If my dad hadn't lost it, he would still come to my baseball games. That's what my mom said."

"Wow," whispered Rachel as she turned to look at the teacher, to see if he was ok about all of this.

"Now kids," began Mr Hudson, "remember that…love is something that happens when you're a little bit older. But there are a million different types of love! You all love your parents and I'm sure if you have a brother or a sister you would love them too! You love your grandparents and you can even love your friends. I think what Miss Berry here is asking about, is the love that you find with someone who isn't your family. The love that you find with the person you want to marry."

Unable to find the reason why he continually insisted on calling her 'Miss Berry', she found the opportunity to leave while she could.

"You all did really well today, thank you. You helped me a lot!" She turned to the teacher and smiled at him. He smiled back. He had such a charming smile – and he was so great with those kids. She could tell they all loved him, he was a role model. "Thank you, Mr Hudson, thanks for your time. I'll let you get back to teaching these kids smart words."

He chuckled and held out his hand, not wanting to be rude. Rachel wasn't exactly in the mood to match-make again but she had no choice. She shook his hand and her eyes dilated. She saw white. Everything was white and her heart was practically beating out of her chest. She collapsed to her knees and finally snapped out of it. She looked around at all the children staring at her.

The teacher bent down on his knees, held her arm and said "are you alright? Do I need to get the nurse?"

"No…no I'm fine," she managed to say. She looked up at him, into his beautiful eyes and smiled. Her mother told her this would happen. When you touch someone and you see white, it means they are your soul mate. She had finally found hers in a world full of billions of people – and he was right in front of her. But she couldn't just hit on him in front of all these kids. She had to find a way to talk to him again.

She slowly stood up, "I think I'm just hungry", she said, not taking her eyes away from his. They were both standing now but his hands stayed glued to her arms. They were just inches away from one another.

"Mr Hudson and Rachel sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" sang the children, unaware of the powerful moment they had so innocently interrupted.

She took a deep breath and looked away from him, "I really should go. Again, thank you."

She turned to walk out of the door when she heard her mother's voice in her head, 'when you meet him Rachel, don't let him pass you by.'

"You know," Rachel began, "you had some fairly good perspective on love. I would love to interview you another time, just to see what else you have to say…"

"Miss Berry…" said the teacher, looking down.

"Rachel," she corrected, once again.

"I...I… would love to. I mean, why not, right? You said you were hungry? Lunch is about five minutes away. The staff room isn't very exciting though…"

"Sounds perfect." She said, smiling.

It was happening. It was all happening perfectly. They were going to have lunch. They were going to talk and bond and then lunch would lead to dinner and dinner would lead to the kiss good night and the 'want to come up?' speech. Which, of course would then lead to marriage and babies and she could pass her gift onto who ever she wishes.

She had promised herself not to place the gift on her own daughter. Unlike her mother and grandmother before her, she did not like her gift. She hated it. It was exciting at first, of course, but it was a hassle.

Now finally, a perfect guy had come into her life by coincidence – she couldn't have planned it better herself.

**please reveiw so i know which way you guys want this to go :)  
>thankyou everyone for reading and putting me on alert! so nice!<strong>


	3. FanFreakingTastic

She made her way to the staff room and sat at one of the tables. She was waiting around for ten minutes or so, awkwardly sitting there, waiting for a familiar face but there was no one. She felt alone in a crowded room full of people who meant nothing to her. And then she saw him. And he meant everything.

"I'm so sorry, one of my students was crying because his Band-Aid fell off…" he said, apologetic.

"Wow, I'm sorry I missed that…" Rachel said, laughing, "I just realised, I don't know your name. Or do you actually enjoy being called Mr Hudson? Besides, I figure that if I know your first name, you won't feel so awkward saying mine! It's Rachel, by the way, just in case you've forgotten again.

He laughed along with her, not understanding why he was so damn nervous. He had spoken to girls before. He had spoken to _lots_ of girls before. But none of them ever had this effect on him.

"My name is Finn. Finn Hudson," he said, blushing.

"Finn. Cute name,"

He blushed again.

He cleared his throat and began, "so, what did you need to ask me,"

She had forgotten. She was too busy staring at his lips and imagining kissing them, over and over again. They would be the lips that would kiss her good night and good morning. They would be the lips to speak the words 'breath' and 'you can do this' when she's having their baby. They would be the lips th-…..

"Hello? Rachel? What did you need to ask me?" Finn asked, confused.

She widened her eyes, embarrassed and wondering how long she was just staring at him for.

"Oh! Um, yes. Uh, so…it sounds like you've been in love! Lots of times I presume," she mumbled.

"Not lots of times. Just once, with my girlfriend, Quinn." He said, looking down.

"Oh ok. Didn't end well huh? How did she break your heart? This is off the record by the way, I won't publish it, I swear."

"She didn't break my heart? In fact, I proposed to her just the other day," Finn said with a happy smile on his face.

Rachel froze. This wasn't possible. How could he be the love of her life if he was the love of someone else's? How was she supposed to go to dinner with him without acting like a wedding planner? An idea hit her and she could've have sworn she actually saw a light bulb.

"I'd like to meet her, if that's ok! I think that I could get some really great information from you two!" she had a plan. Oh boy, she had a plan alright.

"Well she's a bit shy, but I'll ask her. How about this, give me your number and I'll get her to call you if she wants to set up a time to meet with you!" he said, modestly.

The end of lunch bell rang and children could be heard screaming in the corridors. The teachers began to hustle out and Rachel turned to Finn.

"I'm sorry we didn't get more time, but I would really love it if I could meet Quinn," Rachel said with the perfect smile.

Rachel wasn't one for breaking apart relationships. But she wouldn't. Quinn's perfect guy would...

* * *

><p>The rest of the day seemed to drag on for Finn. He loved kids, he wanted children. But he couldn't help feeling sad at the fact that Quinn had made it very clear she didn't want any. She had said she would rather keep her figure than give birth to something that just cries and poops for 3 years. He loved Quinn, so of course he found a way to get over it. But for some reason, looking at all of the children in his classroom just made him upset. He thought of how they loved meeting Miss Berry…Rachel, he had to remember to call her Rachel. He then remembered the time he introduced them to Quinn and they were nothing but polite and adorable and the only thing she saw was the booger hanging out of one kid's nose and turned her back. They were so very different – why only now could he see this? He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out Rachel's card.<p>

He turned to his students and said "what did you all think of Miss Berry today, class?"

"She was so pretty!" One child said.

"She looked like a princess, and she talked like one too!" proclaimed another.

"We like her better than the other lady…she was mean," said the boy in the front.

He realised they were talking about Quinn and felt ridiculous that he was letting a bunch of ten year olds dictate his life for him. What should it matter if Quinn doesn't like kids? What matters is that he likes her. He loves her. He told her so himself, right before he proposed. That has to mean something, right?

* * *

><p>Rachel sat at her desk, put everything she had learnt today into her word document and sent it to Beth.<p>

A few minutes later she got a call.

"Rachel Berry speaking," she said, in her professional voice.

"I love it darling. It's great. I also love this Finn character. Talk to him more yes? He sounds like he has a lot of insight."

She had been ordered by her boss to speak to this beautiful man again. She couldn't possibly say no to Beth….

The phone beeped and Rachel realised she had another call. She said goodbye to Beth and answered the second call, "Hello, Rachel Berry speaking."

"Hi…hello? Rachel Berry? This is Quinn…I'm Finn's friend…"

She had a beautiful voice. She sounded like an angel. How perfect…. Just fan-freaking-tastic

"Yes, hello, Quinn. I work at Women's Life magazine and I'm currently writing an article on what love is. I met your fiancé today and he suggested that you might have something to say about it, so if you don't mind, I would love an interview when you aren't busy,"

"Oh, great! Yeah I would be honoured," replied the smooth voice.

'Great,' thought Rachel, 'she's modest too…'

**thankyou SO much for putting this story on alert! :) it's so nice of you. i'm really glad you all enjoy it as much as i do :) i'll try to update again soon! please review!**


	4. What Is Love?

White table cloths and champagne were nothing compared to the view Rachel had as she entered the restaurant that day. A little table was where he sat. He stood up as he saw her and held out his hand to greet her. She braced herself for it as their hands met. Pure white and a throbbing in her chest as his soft skin touched hers. Before she could fall this time he held her close, to keep her steady.

"Are you alright? Seriously Rachel, if that happens often, I think you need to see a doctor…" said Finn as he wondered if letting go of her was really the right thing to do"

"You could say it happens a lot…but never like that…" said Rachel, catching her breath. She laughed at the thought that Finn literally knocks the breath out of her.

He wasn't sure what she was laughing at but he smiled at her being so happy.

"What are we happy about?" said an all too familiar voice.

Finn quickly released Rachel and cleared his throat, "Quinn! Hey, beautiful,"

Finn kissed her quickly and they all took to their seats. Rachel replayed that kiss over and over again in her mind. It was so wrong. They were so wrong for each other and she knew it. She didn't just have a gut feeling. She literally knew for a god damn fact that Finn and Quinn were not soul mates.

"So, Quinn," began Rachel, "tell me, what is your opinion on love?"

"Really?" replied Quinn, "no chit-chat, just straight into it…ok…um, well…"

Finn looked at Rachel's hands and how she was fiddling with her fingers, patiently waiting for Quinn to answer. His eyes moved up her arms and to her neck. Her neck that was so kissable. In fact, if he could, he would lean over and kiss it right now. He would kiss slowly and gently all the way up her neck until he got to her jaw line. He would then tell her how beautiful she was before kissing her lips. Once he had-….

"That's how I know that I love Finn, you see!" said Quinn, happy she had been able to articulate how she was feeling. She placed her hand upon his and smiled at him. Finn had no idea what she just said but he figured that smiling back seemed like the right thing to do.

Finn once again turned to Rachel, but this time he spoke. "Rachel, I'm curious, what are your views on love?"

He removed his hand from under Quinn's and sat up, intrigued.

"Well…" she began, "I suppose I never used to believe in it. I mean, I don't think I'd ever really been in love before and I couldn't understand what the big fuss was about. But then I realised something. It had to have started somewhere, right? Someone must have been feeling something so strong for someone else that they had to come up with a whole new name for it. It wasn't lust, it was love. It was pure love. I marvel at the person who got to experience it first. I mean what must have happened in their life, for them to honestly feel that way about someone and literally not have any words to express it. Imagine that someone feels something for you that is so amazingly perfect, that they create a whole new word, just for you," she paused for a moment and smiled to herself.

Finn couldn't believe how flawless everything she just said was, "that was beautiful Rachel,"

Rachel looked up at Finn and smiled at him. He began to smile back when they heard a snickering, coming from the end of the table.

"THAT'S what you say, when someone asks you what your views on love are?" laughed Quinn.

"What's so funny?" asked Rachel.

"It's so stupid. That's not love! I already told you, love is just chemicals in your body! Chocolate actually releases the same chemical's in your body that 'love' does so if you think you love someone, you eat a piece of chocolate and if you feel the same way, then you do. Like I said, _that's _how I knew I loved Finn,"

Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could anyone be so awful and pessimistic?

"I think I've got everything I need here. Thank you both for you time," said Rachel as she quickly got up from the table to leave.

It was cold outside and waiting for a cab was going to take longer than she had hoped. What made it worse was that the walls of the restaurant were glass, so Finn could still see her, waiting, alone, in the cold. Finn stood up and Quinn left.

"I'm sorry Rachel. She's not usually like that. Actually she is, but I am sorry," said Finn as he came out of the restaurant.

"Where's Quinn?" asked Rachel.

"She's going home," he said.

"You know you don't need to apologise for her. I meant what I said. I've got everything I need. So I don't need to see you or your pleasant fiancé again. Ever again," Rachel didn't mean it, but she was angry.

A cab pulled up and she got inside, as she turned to close the door she realised that Finn was getting in the cab too.

"What are you doing?" she said, "There was another cab behind this one!"

"I don't even know, I guess I thought it would be cheaper this way"

Perfect. Even when she was mad at him, he still had the ability to completely captivate her.

"Yes, I guess it is," said Rachel.

* * *

><p>They pulled up outside of Rachel's apartment.<p>

"Wow," proclaimed Finn, "nice place,"

"Yeah, it's ok," replied Rachel, not wanting to get out of the cab because she knew it meant she may never see him again.

They sat awkwardly and silently in the cab. She wanted to ask him up but she knew it was wrong and if she had him alone she could guarantee that the chances of her being able to control herself were slim to none.

He so desperately wanted to go up. But he knew she was too good of a person to do that. In fact, if she did invite him up for coffee, she would literally mean coffee. He, on the other hand might mean coffee, but want something else.

"Well…," began Rachel, "I guess, I'll see you around,"

"I guess so," said Finn.

She turned to get out of the cab and as she stood up she whacked her head and fell down onto Finn's lap.

"Whoa! Are you alright Rachel?" said Finn, honestly concerned.

"Yeah I'm…" she realised what a great opportunity this was, "actually no, no I'm not. I think I need some ice…"

"Yeah it looks like it," replied Finn.

"Could you…could you come up and help me?"

"That's probably safer, you might have a concussion…." Said Finn, happy that fate gave him a reason to walk her up to her apartment.

She unlocked the door and he held her close as they both climbed three flights of stairs. She got to her door and looked up at him, before unlocking the entrance.

Her apartment was flawless. Perfect sized kitchen, perfect rug on the floor, perfect hallway leading to her bedroom and the perfect view of New York City.

He remembered why he was actually in her apartment so he quickly ran to the fridge to get some frozen peas. Rachel began walking to her bedroom, to lie down. He turned around, expecting to see Rachel on the couch. Realizing where she was, he hurriedly paced down the hallway and just before entering her room, he just stood there and thought to himself, 'don't let anything happen. You are here to help her, not have sex with her…ok Finn?' He fixed himself up quickly and walked into her room carrying the peas. She was laying down on her bed. She looked so damn beautiful and suddenly everything he had just told himself didn't seem to matter anymore. He crawled onto the bed next to her and placed the peas on her forehead.

"Here," he said, "this should help," he stroked her cheek.

"It's so cold," she said, "is it even that bad?"

He removed the peas for a second and saw only a small red mark on her forehead.

"Well I don't think we need to call an ambulance," he said, whispering.

"Thank you," she said, "for everything,"

"Try not to talk," he said, still stroking her, "just relax. In fact, how about I tell you a story?"

"A story?" she asked, confused.

"One day, there was this guy. He thought he had everything he could never need. If he had the choice of anything in this world, he honestly wanted none of it. Then, this man met a woman. And she changed everything,"

"Finn…," whispered Rachel.

"She made him see things differently for the first time in a long time. She made him realise that maybe, maybe his life wasn't so great. And maybe he was missing something. All along he was missing something but he never knew about it, until he met this woman. This beautiful, amazing woman,"

Rachel was trying not to cry, "How does it end?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Finn, "it hasn't ended yet…"

His lips moved closer to hers and he lingered just inches away from her. She raised her head and he kissed her. He let out a huge sigh of relief as he felt her kissing him back. He chucked the peas away from them and slid that hand behind her head, bringing her closer and making the kisses deeper. He rolled on top of her and moaned as she wrapped her legs around him.

She turned away, "this is wrong Finn,"

"I know! I don't cheat, I'm not a cheater! But with you, I just…I can't help myself," he said, barely able to breath and talk at the same time.

She held his face in her hands, "Finn, I have an idea. I'm about to tell you something so extreme - you will either think I'm crazy or brilliant,"

* * *

><p>i hope you liked my chapter :) i made this one long because i wont be able to update for a few days :( i have so many ideas as to how this could turn out haha. please review and let me know what you think!<p> 


	5. It's Worked Before!

They were both sitting up on the bed, Rachel was hugging a pillow and Finn was chewing on some 'Reese's Pieces', "let me get this straight," began Finn, "you want Quinn to leave me….for her perfect guy?"

Rachel swallowed hard, "something like that, yeah,"

"And there is a 100% guarantee that this will happen because…. Of your gift….right?"

"Right"

She was surprised at how well Finn was dealing with the news.

"Holy shit!" he said, getting up off the bed as if there were a snake under the covers.

"There we go…" muttered Rachel under her breath.

"You're crazy…" he said.

"I didn't want it to have to come to this, Finn, but I'll prove it to you,"

"Rachel, I want us to be together just as much as you do, ok? But I don't think you need to make up some crazy plan! I'll just tell Quinn that I don't love her. It will be simple!"

"But then she'll get hurt! And honestly, she hasn't done anything to you! She hasn't cheated, or fallen out of love with you… let her be the one to end the relationship so that she can feel like it's the right thing and so can you!"

"Alright…you've got to show me how this gift works…"

* * *

><p>Hand in hand, Finn and Rachel were walking through Central Park. She saw a young woman rollerblading with her son. The woman tripped over and Rachel felt it was the perfect opportunity to show Finn what she does.<p>

"Wait here," she said.

She rushed to help the woman up and took her by the hand. Just as she expected, her eyes dilated and she saw this woman's soul mate. She's happy that this guy loves kids. It makes sense, seeing as this girl is a single mother. She decides they will meet at school. She'll be dropping her son off and he will be dropping off his nephew. It turns out that his nephew and her son are actually friends. They will begin a conversation about the school and it will blossom from there. She will find the courage to trust a man after being hurt by her many previous boyfriends and they will plan to take the kids to the park when they pick them up from school.

'Perfect', she thought to herself.

She walked back over to Finn and said, "Tomorrow, we are coming back here and you will see that woman and her soul mate. He has glasses and brown hair. I know she looks like the type of girl to fall for the bad boy but that's what got her knocked up in the first place, if you know what I mean!"

Finn took a deep breath. "If we come back tomorrow, and everything is exactly as you say it should be, I will believe you," he kissed her on the forehead.

"Ouch!" she mumbled, "my head still hurts you know!"

* * *

><p>They walked back to Rachel's apartment and they stood at the doorway.<p>

"Well, goodnight Finn," said Rachel as she leant in for a kiss.

"Wait! I can't go home? If I go home, she might want to…do stuff…and I'd just feel weird about it now.."

"Well, you can't stay here, because knowing us we _will _do stuff…" replied Rachel, only meaning half of that sentence.

"Rachel, before I go, I need to know something,"

"Sure,"

"What happens now? I mean you say that we are meant to be together. And it makes sense, everything we were feeling and how even right now, all I can really think about is kissing you… but you're the one with the vision. If any other girl had come up to me and told me that we were soul mates I would have booked her into a psych ward…but there was just something about the way you told me. And everything is too much of a coincidence to be anything other than what you say it is, right?"

"Finn, I've known you for less than a week…but I feel like I've known you forever,"

He stroked her arm, "Goodnight, Miss Berry,"

"My, Mr Hudson, how many times do I have to remind you, please, call me Rachel," she said with a smirk on her face.

"Goodnight, Rachel,"

He kissed her, softly and sweetly. He lingered on her lips, as he knew that saying goodnight to this girl was the hardest thing he'd done in years.

* * *

><p>"Finn, baby? Is that you?" called Quinn from their bedroom.<p>

"Uh, yeah Quinn, it's me!" he had hoped she would be out, or in the shower at least.

"Come in here, I need to talk to you!"

He placed his keys down on the bench top which he had constantly cleaned – but Quinn always found a way to make it messy again. He remembered how great Rachel's apartment was. It wasn't neat-freak clean, but it was tidy -how he wished his apartment would be. He walked into the bedroom and saw Quinn, laying on the bed in a new piece of black lingerie.

"I couldn't stop thinking about our little fight at the restaurant. I knew that I had to apologise properly when you got home…" she said, as she poured him some champagne.

He took a deep breath.

"Quinn, you can't just expect for us to fight and then all of a sudden have me forgive you because you're wearing some slutty clothing,"

"Shh, Finn. Come sit on the bed,"

And he did.

She had done this before, and she knew it would work again. She gave him his champagne glass and gestured at him to drink it. Giving in, he obeyed. She sat on top of him and kissed his neck.

"I'm so sorry Finn. I'm not like that. You know me. I guess I was just tired…but I'm not tired now," she said giggling and kissing his ear.

"Quinn, I…"

"Finn, let me apologise. My poor baby was angry with me, and we don't want that, do we Finn?"

"N-no…but"

"And I never should have said what I said," whispered Quinn as she slowly unhooked her bra, "do you forgive me, Finn?" she asked as his hands slid higher up until they were close to her breasts.

"Yes…you didn't mean what you said, right?"

"That's right, but I did mean it when I said that I loved you," she untucked his shirt from his pants and began to feel her way up his chest, "tell me you love me, Finn" she said as she kissed him.

"I…" he shook his head, "I have to go!" he tried to sit up but she pushed him back down on the bed. She was strong when she wanted to be.

"What's the matter Finn? Where are you going?"

"I need to go for a walk… I can't do this now…I'm so sorry Quinn,"

And just like that he left. He had never rejected Quinn before and she was shocked. That was not like him. That was not like him at all.

* * *

><p>thankyou all so so so much for all the reviews and alerts! i'll update again soon.<p> 


	6. Good Morning

It's not that Rachel was asleep, she was just happy reading Pride and Prejudice in her daggy pyjamas. She found that was the best book to take her mind off of things as she had to concentrate so hard on what it all meant. A knock on the door broke the silence. She opened it slowly on the off chance that it was a kidnapper and was relieved and confused to see that it was Finn, "Hey, what are you-…"

He grabbed her in his arms and kissed her, and without hesitation, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around him, kissing him harder. They both stumbled into the bedroom and he lay her down on the bed. He looked at her, trying to catch her breath – she was so beautiful.

"Finn, why are you stopping?" she asked, panting, "is something wrong?"

"I know that I shouldn't be here. But I can't be at home Rachel, I just can't,"

"Ok, Finn its fine, you can stay here," she said, smiling. She sat up and kissed him on the cheek, "but if you want to stay here, you have to tell me what's wrong,"

"It's just…Quinn knows that she was rude today. And her way of apologising is…a little different to the average 'I'm sorry' speech,"

"Oh my God. You slept with her…" said Rachel, backing away from the bed, "you men! Have you no self-control? "'

"You women! You always come to conclusions before we've even finished what we have to say!"

Rachel didn't want to laugh, she was supposed to be angry with him, but she couldn't help it. He was just so adorable. Even when he was frustrated.

"I didn't sleep with her Rachel. She tried…she tried but I just kept thinking of you and then I realised why I couldn't and it all made sense. I know you think that your idea will work but I'm just going to tell Quinn the truth, ok?"

"…I love you too Finn,"

He smiled, somehow, through all his babbling, she had figured out what he was really trying to say. She sat back down on the bed next to him and held his hand, "tomorrow, we'll do it your way," she promised.

He looked down at their hands, perfectly intertwined, "so how come we can hold hands now?" he asked.

"Because we both feel the same way. Now I don't see white, I just feel some tingling,"

He looked up into her big brown eyes and hugged her. They were going to be together. He felt whole, for the first time in a long time and he knew what was going to happen next.

* * *

><p>Breathing in and out, he had never looked cuter. Rachel wondered what he was dreaming about. His eyes slowly began to open and as he became familiar with his surroundings he turned over to see Rachel, smiling at him.<p>

"Good morning!" she said, happily.

"With you here, it's already better than 'good'," he replied, turning over and resting his head just under her neck.

"You have big words to teach today, Mr Hudson…" Rachel didn't want him to leave, but he was a teacher, and that meant early mornings but early returns.

Finn looked at the time and when he saw that he only had 20 minutes to get ready and get to the school he ran out of the bed and into the bathroom, "can I use your shower, babe?"

He had called her babe. And it felt perfect, "sure! I'll make you some breakfast so you can eat quickly when you get out,"

Rachel went off to the kitchen to make him some scrambled eggs. Everything was going so great – then there was a knock at the door.

"Who the hell could that be?" Rachel asked herself as she walked towards her front door. She opened it slowly and was shocked to see Quinn standing there.

"He's here isn't he? I know he is! I saw how you two were looking at each other at the restaurant!" screamed Quinn as she barged inside, "who's in the shower, huh?"

"Quinn I think you should leave, you can't just barge in like this!"

The shower turned off and out emerged Finn in nothing but a towel to see his fiancé…and his girlfriend…things couldn't get any worse.

"Quinn! Hey….look, nothing happened, alright?" he said, trying not to hurt her.

"What do you mean nothing happened?" asked Rachel

"Oh who am I supposed to believe, huh? My fiancé or his whore?" screamed Quinn.

"Babe, I promise – can't we just talk about this?" Finn said as he ran over to Quinn.

He called her babe. Suddenly him speaking those words to Rachel only minutes ago didn't feel so special anymore. Why was he doing this? Then Rachel realised – he was scared. He didn't want to hurt either of them.

"This is why we should have done it my way," stated Rachel as she stormed back into her bedroom, leaving Finns clothes outside the door.

* * *

><p>i didnt know if you guys wanted smuttiness, i wrote two versions and decided to go with the 'clean' one aha. sorry if i dissapointed you!<p> 


	7. Just A Bartender

_You have 8 new messages, _spoke Rachel's answering machine. All from Finn she presumed. Apologising for how he handled the situation. She knew they were meant to be together but that didn't mean it was easy forgiving him. As soon as complications came into it he freaked out and chose Quinn over Rachel. She knew he would – he had been with Quinn for years and with Rachel for only a few days. Why shouldn't he pick the woman he had asked to marry? Because she saw white – that's why.

She figured that listening to just a few of the messages wouldn't do much harm, so she pressed play.

_Rachel, I know you're there – please pick up….please…_

_I'm going to tell her, Rachel! When I get home from school, I'm going to tell her and then I'm coming over, ok? And we can talk about this!_

_If my way doesn't work we can do it your way, I promise!_

_Rachel please call me back! Please! You mean so much to me….I…. I feel terrible…._

The rest were more or less along those lines with the exception of one from Beth asking how her story was coming along.

She decided not to call him back, but to wait for him to show up at her house after he had finished from school, like he has said he would. And until then – her article needed to be written.

* * *

><p>"One more round!" screamed Quinn at the top of her lungs to the bartender. She had created a circle of about 4 women, all at the bar to drown their love-life sorrows in booze. Without even caring what their names were she continued on with her story, "he doesn't love me! He loves her! And she isn't even pretty?"<p>

"My husband did the same thing. You'd think 10 years of marriage would mean something to a guy but no – it means divorce papers because he's met someone younger. Screwing her won't bring you you're youth back sweetie!"

"I mean, Finn was great! But I always felt like I was settling for him, you know? He made my parents happy and he always called when he said he would…but there wasn't that…spark"

A warm voice interrupted their pity party, "ah, miss? I think you've had enough…"

"Back off, asshole! I'll tell YOU when I've had enough! You just need to keep serving me drinks. Because that's all you do. Serve people. You probably dropped out of high school and worked as like a plumber or something and this is just to pay the bills but you ended up staying for longer than you intended. I get it. But when I ask for some beer, or even some god damn whiskey, I expect you to give it to me!"

"Ok…come with me, ma'am."

He pulled took her hand and led her outside, "don't worry, I'll get you a cab,"

She looked up at him, admiring his brown eyes and solid jaw.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Quinn…"

"I'm Noah, but everyone calls me Puck."

"Nice to meet you," she wasn't sure if she would remember meeting him or not, but as the cab pulled up and he helped her in, she sure hoped she wouldn't, "Puck," she said to herself as the cab started to drive away, "it was nice to meet you."

* * *

><p>A knock on the door broke her concentration. She knew who it would be and suddenly felt nervous. Rachel quickly ran to the mirror to double check her hair and make-up and then finally convinced herself to answer the door.<p>

"Finn….Hi…" she said, trying to sound surprised.

"Can I come in?" he said, not even looking up.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea…" she didn't mean it, but she didn't want to give in so easily.

"Oh. Well, I told Quinn. I told her that I just didn't love her anymore – because I'm in love with you. She knew it was coming, she could tell. She said that she would learn to deal with my 'confusion' for you but it's not a confusion Rachel….this is real….I know it, you know – hell, the universe knows it,"

"You told her?" she said, not understanding why she was feeling happy about breaking apart someone's relationship.

"I told her," he replied.

What Rachel didn't know, was that meeting her had made him realise just how different him and Quinn actually were. They were both settling for each other. But he had found real love, he had found it with Rachel.

"I see…"

She remembered that she had to show him something, so she led him to her window and they both looked down to see the single mother from yesterday with her son…and her soul mate, with his nephew – walking back from their after school trip to the park.

"You did that?" he asked.

Rachel simply smiled.

"You've made someone happy," he claimed.

She turned around, put her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, "you've made someone happy too," she said, before kissing him again, "and I swear to God – I promise you, I'll give Quinn her 'someone'. Ok?"

He didn't reply, he just picked her up and led her to the bedroom.


	8. The Other Woman

"Rachel, sweetie, I love it. It's great. I love the opinions you got from those little kids about the princesses and what not. And I love that crazy teenager. But I really like your idea on how only when you are an adult can you fall out of love. Your childhood is for you to fall into it, and then when you're older – that's when people begin to fall out of it. It's brilliant. I love it," proclaimed Beth, on the phone to Rachel.

"Thank you Beth. I'll be in tomorrow," replied Rachel.

She put down the phone and turned over in her bed to look at the gorgeous man lying next to her. She couldn't be happier – but she knew that he needed closure with Quinn. She needed to touch Quinn's hand, so she could give Quinn her soul mate. But how was Quinn ever going to want to see Rachel again? It would have been so much easier if she had just done it when the met at the restaurant. But Rachel had been too captivated by Finn.

Finn slowly sat up in the bed and turned his head to see Rachel, hanging up the phone. His hair was scruffy and his eyes were only half open but he looked ridiculously sexy.

"I'm going to make you some breakfast," he said, "I'm thinking…pancakes?"

"I'm thinking, that sounds perfect…" said Rachel as she kissed him lightly.

* * *

><p>"So, how does it feel, being the other woman?" asked Quinn bitterly.<p>

"Look, I don't know you, ok? I don't. But I didn't do this to hurt you, Quinn," replied Rachel.

Quinn had agreed to meet with Rachel purely on the basis of having her photo appear in the magazine. Rachel remembered her first impression of Quinn and how perfect she thought she was. But now she could see and hear all her flaws. Then she figured that somewhere, some man is going to love her for the things she is most self-conscious about. Like her and Finn. She always thought her breasts were a bit small but he thought they were perfect. She was embarrassed of her loud laugh but it always makes him smile. Quinn deserved someone like that.

She went to pass Quinn the photo that would be used in the magazine, for approval and purposely touched her hand.

Her eyes dilated and she saw….nothing. That meant Quinn had _already_ met her soul mate! Hoping to God that it wasn't Fin, she tried really hard to catch a glimpse of the man she would end up with. That was when she saw him, a man….a bartender.

'Wow', thought Rachel, 'was NOT expecting that,'

Snapping her back to reality, Quinn approved of the photo and went to leave.

"Hey, Quinn…. I know you hate me, but I'd like to take you out for a drink. I know this really great place that's just a few blocks from here?

"Why would I go for a drink with you?"

"Because I'm featuring you in my article?"

"You stole my fiancé!" screamed Quinn. But all of this talk was making her upset, she needed a drink. She would happily go to a bar, just not with Rachel. Which was exactly what Rachel wanted.

* * *

><p>Entering through the double doors, she took a seat at the bar.<p>

"It's you!" said Puck, smiling.

"I'm sorry…do I know you?" replied Quinn.

"N-no, no you don't. I'm sorry I thought you were someone else…what can I get for you Quinn?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Last night you came here, I served you and then got you a cab…. I'm Puck!"

She buried her head in her hands and began laughing, "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry about last night! I _never_ do that! It was the first time I've ever really been drunk. I didn't throw up on you, did I?"

"No, you were actually kind of adorable. Yelling at me, asking me to marry you…."

"I didn't ask you to marry me, did I?"

"…No," he laughed, "I just wanted to see your face,"

She looked away embarrassed, "Well I'm sorry, for anything I may have said or done to you,"

"How about you make it up to me, by letting me take you out for dinner?"

"Oh, I don't think…" She was going to say no, before she realised that in this moment in time Finn, the man who once said he loved her, was probably with Rachel. Why shouldn't she try and be happy too? "Sure…I'd really like that…"

* * *

><p>i think the next chapter will be the last one, so review and tell me how you think it should end! Also, i love hearing what you guys think so if you have any feedback i'd appreciate that aswell :) i have a new story on the way so look out for that one! first chapter should be up maybe next week! thankyou so much to every single one of you who has this story on alert, it means so much to me :)<p> 


	9. The Girl Next Door FINAL CHAPTER

"A bartender?" asked Finn, shocked, "I didn't even know she _went_ to bars!"

"I know, she'd already met him too, so I couldn't plan anything,"

"But they'll be together, right?"

"I hope so…it's up to them now. I have no control over what happens after they first meet. But I think they'll be just fine," Rachel said, smiling.

"So that's it then?" he asked, "No ex-girlfriend holding us back…"

"Nothing holding us back at all" Rachel said with a grin.

He kissed her, softly at first and then deeper, stronger. He pulled away and smiled at the girl he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with.

"I'll make us some dinner, you finish your article," he said, still smiling.

* * *

><p>Every so often I get someone coming up to me and asking me if I'm that Rachel girl who wrote the article on love. Finn would always wrap his arms around me and say "yes, that's her! My beautiful girlfriend wrote that!" but lately, his wording has changed, it still takes me a while to get used to hearing it. Now he says, "Yes! That's her, my beautiful wife wrote that!"<p>

Just in case you're wondering, we're going great. All three of us. Me, Finn and the little boy or girl inside of me. I can tell that Finn really wants a boy but I know he'll be happy with either. We just bought a house thanks to my huge pay rise I received after the article went national. I don't think I've ever been happier.

And then I realised what I had to do. I didn't want my child having the gift – I just didn't. I know it helped me find Finn but I also knew what damage it could cause. Walking through the streets, hand in hand with my husband, I saw her. I saw the girl who would receive my gift.

She was the girl next door.

No, not the one who takes her bra off while the cute guy in the window next to hers stares in awe; she was on the other side. She was the girl with the braces who watched the guy _watching_ the girl next door.

Feeling a rush of something all too familiar – I looked up to her window and smiled at her. She looked confused, wondering if she had seen me before, but after realising we'd never met, she smiled politely and turned her head back down to her studies.

"So what now? How does she get the gift?" Finn asked.

"She just got it..." I said, smiling, "and I think I might actually miss it a little bit,"

I kissed him. Everything, right there in that moment – was perfect.

_And they lived happily ever after. _

_The End. _

* * *

><p><strong>Thankyou so much every single person who reviewd and put this story on alert. without you guys pushing me and giving me inspiration, this story probably wouldnt have ever been finished. so thankyou :) yay for completing my first fanfic ever! :3<strong>


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